{"id":10561,"date":"2026-05-03T19:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T19:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/covid-19-new-york-office-reopening-guidance\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T19:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T19:11:41","slug":"covid-19-new-york-office-reopening-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/covid-19-new-york-office-reopening-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: New York Office Reopening Guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"contentSummaryCollapse\" style=\"--intro-p-height: 10.3125rem;\">\n<div class=\"inner-collapse\">\n<p>On June 15, 2021, New York State issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-cuomo-announces-covid-19-restrictions-lifted-70-adult-new-yorkers-have-received-first\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">press release<\/a> stating that because 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series, the \u201cNew York Forward industry specific guidelines\u2014including social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, health screening, and contact information for tracing\u2014are now optional for\u00a0\u2026 offices.\u201d The press release added that \u201cbusinesses are free to choose to lift all or some restrictions, continue to adhere to the State\u2019s archived guidance, or implement other health precautions for their employees and patrons,\u201d and that \u201c[c]onsistent with the State\u2019s implementation of the recent CDC guidance, masks are still required for unvaccinated individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-align: center;\">*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This blog post is updated as additional guidance relevant to office reopening is published. These updates include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>June 15, 2021 \u2013 The New York office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/atoms\/files\/offices-interim-guidance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">reopening guidance<\/a> became optional, because 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series.<\/li>\n<li>June 8, 2021 \u2013 New York updated the office reopening guidance to incorporate the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (\u201cCDC\u201d) guidance on social distancing and mask wearing for vaccinated individuals.<\/li>\n<li>June 7, 2021 \u2013 Governor Cuomo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-cuomo-announces-most-remaining-covid-19-restrictions-be-lifted-when-70-adult-new\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">announced<\/a> that the New York office reopening guidance \u201cwill become optional\u201d once 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series.<\/li>\n<li>May 19, 2021 \u2013 New York\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-05\/NYS_CDCGuidance_Summary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">summary of CDC guidance<\/a> clarifies that businesses, including offices, may require masks and six feet of social distancing for employees and\/or patrons within their establishments or adhere to CDC guidance, which advises that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks or be socially distanced, but unvaccinated individuals must continue to wear masks and be socially distanced in most settings.<\/li>\n<li>May 15, 2021 \u2013 The total permissible number of occupants at any given time has been increased from no more than 50% to no more than 75% of the maximum occupancy for a particular area as set by the certificate of occupancy. The 75% maximum occupancy also applies to spaces including elevators, supply rooms, personal offices and vehicles, even when face coverings are worn.<\/li>\n<li>March 16, 2021\u00a0\u2013 Non-essential office common areas, such as gyms, pools or game rooms, may reopen in accordance with any applicable industry-specific guidance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The above updates are described in more detail below.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n<p>June 15, 2021. As of June 15, 2021, 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series. Accordingly, the New York reopening guidance has now become optional.\u00a0 Businesses are free to choose to lift all or some restrictions, continue to adhere to the State\u2019s archived guidance, or implement other health precautions for their employees and patrons. Consistent with the State\u2019s implementation of CDC guidance, masks are still required for unvaccinated individuals.<\/p>\n<p>June 8, 2021.\u00a0 On June 8, 2021, New York updated the office reopening guidance to incorporate the CDC\u2019s guidance on social distancing and mask wearing for vaccinated individuals. The updated guidance is available here.<\/p>\n<p>June 7, 2021. Governor Cuomo announced that the New York office reopening guidance \u201cwill become optional\u201d once 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series.<\/p>\n<p>May 19, 2021. On May 19, 2021, New York issued \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-05\/NYS_CDCGuidance_Summary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Implementing CDC Guidance<\/a>,\u201d a summary of the CDC\u2019s May 13, 2021 \u201cInterim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.\u201d This summary clarifies that businesses, including offices, may require masks and six feet of social distancing for employees and\/or patrons within their establishments or adhere to CDC guidance, which advises that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks or be socially distanced, but unvaccinated individuals must continue to wear masks and be socially distanced in most settings. In indoor settings where the vaccination status of individuals is unknown, the New York Department of Health strongly recommends masks and six feet of social distancing. Additionally, any mask requirements that businesses choose to implement must adhere to all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Businesses Following CDC Guidance. Businesses that decide to apply the CDC guidance may apply it to the entire establishment or a separate, designated part of the establishment. Businesses such as offices, that do not congregate patrons and\/or that operate below the State\u2019s social gathering limit of 250 indoors, and that choose to implement the CDC guidance, may require proof of full vaccination status through paper form, digital application, the State\u2019s Excelsior Pass, or, alternatively, may rely upon self-reporting of vaccination status (e.g., honor system).<\/li>\n<li>Businesses Not Following CDC Guidance. For businesses that decide not to follow the CDC guidance, all individuals must wear masks and maintain six feet of social distancing, and business capacity is only limited by the space available for patrons or parties of patrons to maintain the required social distance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>May 15, 2021. On May 15, 2021, New York made minor revisions to its guidance for reopening offices to increase the total permissible number of occupants at any given time from no more than 50% to no more than 75% of the maximum occupancy for a particular area as set by the certificate of occupancy. The 75% maximum occupancy also applies to spaces including elevators, supply rooms, personal offices and vehicles, even when face coverings are worn.<\/p>\n<p>March 16, 2021.\u00a0 Non-essential common areas, such as gyms, pools or game rooms, may reopen in accordance with any applicable industry-specific guidance.\u00a0Specifically, gyms and fitness centers must follow the guidelines outlined in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/governor.ny.gov\/files\/atoms\/files\/Gyms_and_Fitness_Centers_Detailed_Guidelines.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Interim Guidance for Gyms and Fitness Centers during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency<\/a>; pool operations must follow the guidelines outlined in the <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2020\/06\/doh_covid19_pooladvisory_061120_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Interim Guidance for Pools and Recreational Aquatic Spray Grounds During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency<\/a>; and recreational activities, such as pool and billiards, must follow the guidelines outlined in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/governor.ny.gov\/files\/atoms\/files\/SportsAndRecreationMasterGuidance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Interim Guidance for Sports and Recreation during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On June 15, 2021, New York State issued a press release stating that because 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[500,3798,737,3902,326],"class_list":["post-10561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawyers","tag-covid19","tag-guidance","tag-office","tag-reopening","tag-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}